• Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

  • 1 Then Job responded,
  • 2 “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.
  • 3 “Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.
  • 4 “As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?
  • 5 “Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.
  • 6 “Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.
  • 7 “Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?
  • 8 “Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,
  • 9 Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.
  • 10 “His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.
  • 11 “They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.
  • 12 “They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
  • 13 “They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
  • 14 “Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
  • 15 ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
  • 16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.
  • 17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
  • 18 “Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?
  • 19 “You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.
  • 20 “Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
  • 21 “For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?
  • 22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?
  • 23 “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;
  • 24 His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,
  • 25 While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.
  • 26 “Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.
  • 27 “Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.
  • 28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
  • 29 “Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?
  • 30 “For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.
  • 31 “Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?
  • 32 “When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.
  • 33 “The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.
  • 34 “So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”